Wired with Wireless: Developing Local Capabilities in Personal Area Networking

Mr Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive Director-General (Telecoms), IDA Singapore - Speech Launch Of Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Wireless Platform Competency Centre & Centre For Bluetooth Technology - Interoperability Laboratory, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Innohub ...

Mr Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive Director-General (Telecoms), IDA Singapore - Speech
Launch Of Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Wireless Platform Competency Centre & Centre For Bluetooth Technology - Interoperability Laboratory, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Innohub Block 7, Level 1, Function Room

Singapore, 26 September 2003

Mr Chia Mia Chiang, Principal,
Mr Lee Tuck Seng, Dy Principal
Mr Anders Edlund, Director of Marketing for Bluetooth SIG
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am happy to join you today to witness the opening of Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Wireless Platform Competency Centre. I would like to applaud Ngee Ann Polytechnic for your foresight and commitment in investing in wireless technology. This is undoubtedly one of the most promising infocommunication technologies of today. Since the formation of the Radio Frequency Centre 8 years ago, Ngee Ann Polytechnic has continued to invest in resources to align itself to the market needs for of the infocomm sector. This has led to the establishment of 3 other centres that specialized in digital signal processing, inter-networking and Bluetooth technologies. To-date, there had been close to 2,400 full-time students and more than 500 industry participants who have benefited from these facilities.

IDA has identified Value-Added Mobile Services as one of the five high-growth clusters in the infocomm industry under our Connected Singapore Blueprint which was launched earlier this year1. An international consultant report has also projected the global spending for this cluster to be worth US$621 billion by the year 2005. Through our Wired With Wireless programme, IDA has been actively working with Institutes of Higher Learning, companies and industry associations to put in place the enabling infrastructure to capitalize on the opportunities in the wireless arena.

In the development of enabling infrastructure for wireless, we have addressed issues pertaining to 3 areas. Firstly, wide area networks (WAN) where GPRS and 3G can be deployed; secondly, local area networks (LAN) where wireless LAN is can be deployed; and thirdly, personal area networks (PAN). With the transition of Bluetooth technology from standards specification to mass production, the deployment of Bluetooth has increasingly become an integral platform for wireless personal area networking. Today, Bluetooth can be found in many consumer devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and hands-free headsets. These have helped to fulfill the needs for personal communication and enhanced interaction with devices.

One of the efforts that IDA has put in to promote Bluetooth is the Bluetooth UnplugFest which is a key event for the global Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The event in Singapore last July attracted over 150 Bluetooth developers worldwide. Following this event, Singapore's own Bluetooth Workgroup was inaugurated in October 2002.

IDA is delighted to have been involved in the formation of the Interoperability Laboratory (Interop Lab) under the Center for Bluetooth Technology in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. This is a tie-up between Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the Bluetooth SIG. Areas of collaboration will include the provision of lab equipment through corporate members of the Singapore Bluetooth Workgroup, as well as promoting the Lab through the SIG's marketing channels. I am sure Mr Anders Edlund of the Bluetooth SIG can share more about this with you in a short while. For the student community, this new competency centre and Bluetooth Interop Lab will enable the students to put into practice what they have learnt. In time to come, they will be well-placed to enter the workforce with readily applicable skills.

On behalf of IDA, I would like to congratulate Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the Bluetooth SIG on their partnership. I wish you every success in your collaboration & with such a good start, I am sure the Interop Lab will be able to achieve its target to groom another 500 Bluetooth specialists for Singapore over the next 3 years.

Thank you.

Notes:
¹ The other four high-growth clusters are: Infrastructure for Wireless, Wired Networks; Multimedia Processing & Management; Web Services & Portals; and Security & Trust Infrastructure.